Mawgan Porth and Chun Quoit among 6,000 painted postcards

A postcard from Cornwall usually makes a short, predictable trip. Someone on holiday scribbles a line about the weather, adds a stamp, and a few days later it lands on a doormat somewhere upcountry.

A handful of Cornish scenes have ended up somewhere rather different this year. Painted in watercolour, they now sit among more than 6,000 postcards from artists in over 40 countries, part of a project that opens at London’s Saatchi Gallery this week.

📷Carbis Bay, Cornwall. Melanie Price for Winsor & Newton Art Mail

The Cornish scenes in the collection

The project is Art Mail, run by Winsor & Newton. Since April, the company has been inviting people everywhere to paint a postcard and send it in, from seasoned artists to people trying watercolour for the very first time.

Every card received so far appears in the Art Mail online gallery, and several of them were inspired by Cornwall’s landscape and coastline. They include:

• Carbis Bay, by Melanie Price
• a sunset at Par, by Tania Cordiero
• Chun Quoit, by Mary Humphreys
• Mawgan Porth, by Susan Holmes

They sit alongside cards showing birds, botanicals, celestial objects, architecture and abstract designs. Cities and seascapes, mythical creatures and pets all turn up too, along with plenty of greetings from holidays.

📷Par, Cornwall, sunset. Tania Cordiero for Winsor & Newton Art Mail

From the Saatchi to Brooklyn

The London show runs at the Saatchi Gallery from Thursday 1 October to Sunday 11 October. It’s free to visit, open daily from 10am to 6pm.

Around 250 of the postcards then head to New York for a second exhibition at Drawing Room in Brooklyn, from 21 October to 4 November.

Winsor & Newton also asked a number of recognised artists to contribute a card, among them Giles Deacon, Heather Phillipson, Mark Titchner, Laxmi Hussain, Richard Woods and Susie Hamilton.

“Over 6,000 artists sent their artwork from their hands to ours, with postcards travelling from all around the world,” said Holly Shires, Global Head of Creative at Winsor & Newton.

📷Chun Quoit, Cornwall. Mary Humphreys for Winsor & Newton Art Mail

Still time to send one, just

Anyone can still take part and have their card added to the digital gallery. A free postcard pack comes with the purchase of Winsor & Newton watercolour products, in store and online, and each pack includes an entry postcard ready to paint and send back, with postage covered.

The deadline is this Wednesday (30 September).

Where the money goes

Once the exhibitions close, a number of the postcards will be sold at auction, with the proceeds going to Hospital Rooms. The charity delivers art materials and creative programmes to NHS mental health hospitals, and Winsor & Newton was its first supporter, ten years ago.

“The fact that there will be funds raised for our future projects in mental health hospitals is something we are very grateful for,” said Tim A Shaw, the charity’s co-founder and artistic director.

📷Mawgan Porth, Cornwall. Susan Holmes for Winsor & Newton Art Mail